Nigerian brothers' lawyer says Jussie Smollett 'took advantage of them' by hiring them to carry out staged attack 'as a favor' when they hoped he would help their careers
- Gloria Schmidt represents Abel and Ola Osundairo who told police Smollett hired them to attack him on January 29
- She says they were asked by Smollett to do it 'as a favor' and agreed because they thought he could boost their careers
- Schmidt confirmed the $3,500 check Smollett gave them was officially for training but said him asking them to stage the attack was 'very complicated'
- Schmidt added that they 'betrayed' by him lying about it to the police afterwards
- The brothers are now 'piecing their lives back together', she said
- Smollett's attorneys insist he was the victim of a hate crime and that he is innocent
- They say there is no proof beyond the brothers' own confession that it was a hoax
- Smollett, who has been charged with 16 counts of disorderly conduct, returns to court on March 14
The lawyer representing the two Nigerian brothers at the heart of the Jussie Smollett scandal said on Monday that they had been 'taken advantage of' by the star.
Gloria Schmidt represents brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo, aged 25 and 27. They say Smollett paid them to stage a hoax attack on him on January 29 as part of an elaborate scheme to get a raise.
In an interview on Good Morning America on Monday, Schmidt said the brothers were eager to help Smollett because they thought he could help them with their careers.
They were officially hired to train him, she said, but that Smollett also asked them to carry out the attack as a 'favor.'
'My clients were just taken advantage of by someone they trusted,' she said.
Schmidt dismissed Smollett's lawyers claims that it is only the brothers' word against his and says there is 'of course' corroborating evidence that the attack was a hoax.
She also confirmed that the $3,500 check Smollett paid the brothers which police said was for the hoax was in fact officially for personal training, as Smollett claimed, but that he muddied the issue by asking them to carry out the attack at the same time.
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![Abel and Ola Osundairo](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/03/11/14/10838926-6795109-image-m-32_1552314685044.jpg)
![Jussie Smollett](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/03/11/14/10838934-6795109-image-a-33_1552314687917.jpg)
A lawyer for Abel and Ola Osundairo (left) say the brothers were 'taken advantage of' by Jussie Smollett who allegedly hired them to carry out a staged hate crime on him on January 29
'They were paid for the training, they were training together, but they were also asked to do this favor for him. Unbeknownst to them, this turned out to be a big betrayal.'
Asked if the check was explicitly for the training and not, as police say, for the attack, Schmidt replied: 'It would be such an easy narrative to see it that way but it's a very complicated relationship.
'If you're friends and I'm saying, "Hey, I'm going to pay you for training but I'm also asking you to do me a favor" and the favor was to stage the attack,' she said.
The brothers were questioned as suspects of a hate crime for 47 hours in February before they finally confessed to police that Smollett had asked the to attack him.
While Smollett's lawyers say it is their word against his, Schmidt insists there is other evidence to prove the brothers' story.
'That's why they went from being persons of interests to suspects. They are free men and they are at home,' she said.
In a later interview, she said the pair were 'tremendously regretful' for their role in the scandal.
Schmidt would not explain exactly what the brothers' motive was for participating but said they 'trusted' Smollett and thought he could help them.
![Gloria Schmidt, the brothers' lawyer, went on Good Morning America on Monday to defend them](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/03/11/15/10835244-6795109-Gloria_Schmidt_the_brothers_lawyer_went_on_Good_Morning_America_-a-4_1552317869333.jpg)
Gloria Schmidt, the brothers' lawyer, went on Good Morning America on Monday to defend them
'I look at the dynamic between loyalty and someone who was in a position of trust with my clients who really just took advantage. They worked with Jussie on Empire, they are friends with him, they thought he could help their career.
'Obviously he has connections, he has a good position at Fox.
'This was someone they trusted to consider their best interests,' she said.
She insisted the brothers were not 'looking for anything' when they made their confession but would not confirm if they had been granted immunity from any possible prosecution in exchange for it.
Schmidt said the pair were now putting their lives 'back together'.
'This was life-altering. I saw them go through the realization process.
![The brothers were filmed buying supplies to use in the attack in a store in Chicago the day before it happened. They say they used a $100 bill Smollett gave them](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/03/11/15/10839088-6795109-The_brothers_were_filmed_buying_supplies_to_use_in_the_attack_in-a-5_1552317869346.jpg)
The brothers were filmed buying supplies to use in the attack in a store in Chicago the day before it happened. They say they used a $100 bill Smollett gave them
'They know this has impacted a lot of minority populations so they're working very hard to just move this in the right direction,' she said, adding she could say 'with confidence' that they 'did not commit a hate crime.'
![Smollett has hired celebrity-favorite Mark Geragos who previously represented Michael Jackson and Chris Brown](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/03/11/14/10838938-6795109-image-a-40_1552314993687.jpg)
Smollett has hired celebrity-favorite Mark Geragos who previously represented Michael Jackson and Chris Brown
In a later interview with CBS, she echoed her earlier points, saying: 'What they are really focused on right now is that they feel tremendously regretful for their involvement in the situation.
'All the other peripherals are outside of their main focus right now.
'You have someone here who is a celebrity type, someone who is in a position of trust, someone who works with these people, who is able to hep their careers if he so wants to and then he betrays them.
'This entire thing started because they trusted the wrong person.'
Smollett is now facing 48 years behind bars as opposed to just three after being hit with an additional 15 counts of felony disorderly conduct last week.
The fresh charges were returned in a grand jury indictment on Thursday.
Smollett's lawyers say the entire case is a witch hunt that has been driven by the media. The star will return to court on Thursday.
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